Service quality in higher education: Applying HEdPERF scale in Vietnamese universities

Abstract

As the higher education sector is more competitive and globalized, service quality and student satisfaction are increasingly essential and attract more attention. However, research on this topic usually employed general service models applied for the higher education context. This paper investigates the service quality in higher education by combining the HEdPERF model and the popular two-dimensional service quality model to link the general and context-focused perspective. Data were obtained from 335 respondents who are students in Vietnamese universities. Findings indicate the effects of functional and technical service quality on student satisfaction and determine each HEdPERF dimension’s relationships on the two dimensions of service quality. This study contributes to understanding the path from service performance in the higher education sector, service quality dimensions, and satisfaction. This also provides suggestions for Vietnamese universities in improving their performance and services.

Towards a model of service excellence at a community college in Trinidad and Tobago

“…It is worth mentioning here that there have been arguments against the use of the SERVPERF, or more accurately, SERVQUAL dimensions, to evaluate service quality in the higher education sector (Abdullah, 2005; Brochado, 2009; Tri et al , 2021). Abdullah (2005) claimed that the Higher Education Performance-only (HEdPERF) model (non-academic aspects, academic aspects, reputation, access, programme issues and understanding) captured the authentic determinants of service quality within the higher education sector.…”